Whiskey tipplers woke up to the huge news that Suntory — the Japanese whiskey of Lost in Translation fame— will buy American whiskey giant Beam Inc.
Beam puts out two of the more famous American liquors, Jim Beam and Maker's Mark.
"Suntory is in Asia and, I think, believes it has some competency advantages in terms of Asian marketing and distribution,"writes Slate's Matt Yglesias. "What it doesn't have is bourbon brands or facilities in the United States of America. Beam's got those, so together they can perhaps form a bourbon-exporting juggernaut."
Surely some of that exporting will go to India. Take a look at this chart of global whiskey consumption from Goldman Sachs. While it's not per capital (and population helps), it gives you a good picture of how big whiskey has gotten in developing markets.
Take a look:
